NJ Transit bus driver arrested after alleged shooting with stolen gun

An NJ Transit bus driver was arrested after allegedly shooting at several teenagers and critically injuring one of them after an altercation in Jersey City on Saturday night.

Charles Fieros, 48, of Staten Island, was "outside the bus when he retrieved an illegal handgun and shot at the group of males who had allegedly assaulted him," Jersey City spokeswoman Kimberly Wallace-Scalcione said, adding that the weapon recovered by Jersey City police came back as stolen.

The injured teen, a 15-year-old, arrived at a local hospital by taxi with three gunshot wounds to the abdomen and is in critical but stable condition, Wallace-Scalcione said. The altercation and alleged shooting happened along the No. 87 bus route at Jewett and Monticello avenues around 9:48 p.m.

Fieros was taken to a local hospital for treatment of injuries to his head and face and was released into police custody. He is facing seven charges, including attempted murder, unlawful possession of a handgun and receiving stolen property.

"The bus operator was immediately taken out of service without pay pending the investigation," said NJ Transit spokesman Jim Smith.

Fieros has worked for the agency since January of this year as a bus operator, Smith said. The agency has been on a hiring spree, trying to fill its bus driver vacancies.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ Transit bus driver arrested after alleged shooting outside bus